Architects, builders and others involved in the design, construction and operation of swimming pools are increasingly using polyvinyl chloride pool liners in new pool construction and in pool renovation projects. Such liners have become more popular in new construction in part because pool walls and bottoms are used only for support, and therefore simple, non-watertight construction is adequate. Renovating old or out-of-commission pools with pool liners is also easier. Expensive reconstruction can be eliminated if the pool liner chosen is thick and tough enough to cover cracks and other defects with a water-tight blanket.
One such pool lining material is a fabric-reinforced, polyvinyl chloride product exclusively marketed in the United States by Recreonics Corporation, 7697 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, Indiana, under the trademark DELIFOL.TM.. DELIFOL.TM. pool lining material is comprised of a polyester mesh fabric fuse-bonded between two layers of polyvinyl chloride to form a flexible blanket of polyvinyl chloride with an inner core of polyester mesh fabric to provide elasticity and tensile strength to the product.
Sheets of the DELIFOL.TM. material are custom cut, fitted and bonded together on site to form a conforming, water-tight pool lining for any size or shape of new or existing swimming pool. Known polyvinyl chloride bonding techniques and water-tight installation methods for the DELIFOL.TM. and other pool lining materials have proven to be satisfactory for all swimming pool installations except those that have required a water-tight termination of the pool lining below the normal pool water level. Such a termination requirement would exist, for example, when the swimming pool is equipped with a stainless steel gutter system that extends below the normal pool water level. It would be desirable in such cases to terminate the pool lining material in a water-tight fashion immediately below the pool's gutter system. However, known installation methods have proven to be unsatisfactory to provide a suitable water-tight seal for the DELIFOL.TM. pool lining material, for example.